BnW is absolutely right. We will lose our rights if we don't exercise them and protect them. In a free society, the cops should have the most difficult job of anyone AND, the cops do not have the right to expect you to help them make a case against you, even a minor traffic case. Dashcam, radar, sonar, evidence is not dispositive in most trials for traffic violations and juries often reject it.

The reality is you don't know why he/she pulled you over. Could be a spat with the spouse/SO, could be they missed the car in front of you, could be quota, could be a lot of things (lets see, here in OK it could be he wants to rape you). The best answer is always "no". And never admit anything.

And I know we're talking about this vid/story particularly but let me say shitty bully cops come in both genders. One of the worst cop experiences I ever had was with a female officer who seemed like she was out to prove something. It worked, she proved she was an ass.

I will say though, I killed her with kindness and she finally did just give me a warning, even though I questioned her place to ask me where I'd been and where I was going at 2:30am, which was what started her asshattery in the first place. I was polite about it, I politely informed her that I was an adult and I had the right to be out at night if I chose and my destination nor where I was previously, was not relevant to the pullover. If she was implying that I was under the influence then she should ask that or test me. In the end she agreed and I went on my way unscathed.

(07-05-2016 09:14 AM)jabeady Wrote: Last time I was stopped by a cop, it was a fair... er, "cop."

Him: Do you know why I stopped you?

Me: Probly 'cause I missed that stop sign.

Him: Thank you for being honest. I'm just going to give you a warning.

If a cop stops you for a traffic violation, he's at least witnessed it himself, and probably has it on dashcam; he doesn't need a "confession." If he asks you if you know why you were stopped, he's signaling that you have a chance to cooperate, and cooperation has benefits.

Whatever. It's probably better to be uncooperative, thereby taking it completely out of the cop's discretion and netting yourself a ticket, or getting yourself arrested. It really is probably best to force your case as far into the legal process as it can possibly go. Yup, that makes the most sense.

Oh crap!

I think this misses the point completely. Sure, it's easier to just be polite and you're likely to get a better result if you are. Cops are humans too. But, so what? You have no obligation to be polite and being rude, or silent, does not mean they can pull you out of your car and arrest you. They may be less willing to cut you a break and they are more likely to fight you in court but what they can't do, legally, is, handcuff you, throw you in the back of the car and throw you in jail. It's not only an over the top reaction, it's illegal and an abuse of authority.

I'm always flabbergasted when people respond to these things with "well, if you had just done what the authority figure told you to do, regardless of reasonableness or legality, all would have been fine so it's your fault". If we the people don't stand up for our rights then we won't have any.

This woman could have just complied and been on her way. But, she didn't want to. That doesn't make her a criminal. It makes her a citizen. The police had no right to do what they did. None.

I guess it's a matter of discretion. Personally, I figure the courtroom is where my case should be argued, not out on the street where things can go south really fast. Among other things, it's physically safer.

But hey, if insisting on your rights means more to you than life, limb and avoiding citaitions and incarceration, then by all means have at it. Show those cops who's boss, by god, and make sure they remember it!

(05-05-2016 11:47 PM)earmuffs Wrote: Further irony.
The officers arrested her and got pissy when she didn't answer their question (even though she doesn't have too) yet they wouldn't answer hers when she was being arrested.
Lolwut? Hypocritical much.

Oh America, why do you have some such retarded cops? Clearly these guys are fucking hyped up on power and got pissy because someone was refusing to give in to their bullying.
I hope they lose their jobs I really do. Fuck them.

edit: LOL oh fuck, I knew the "you have the right to remain silent.." was coming but it was still fucking hilarious.
edit2: OMG she's suing them, this is fantastic.

Bullying, my ass, Muffs. They pull her over for a minor traffic violation and she can't even interact with a cop? Its not grounds for an arrest, but it is common courtesy.

I agree it's common courtesy. But you say yourself, it's not grounds for arrest.
It's not grounds to push her up against her car and arrest her for "obstruction".

It is the job of the Police officer to prove her guilt. She has the right to remain silent. The Police officer should have just done his job and given her a ticket and moved on. But instead he lost his cool and had a tantrum simply because the women wanted to exercise her rights.

Police need to be held to a higher standard when it comes to this sort of thing. We trust these people to protect and SERVE us. We trust these people to help and deal with sensitive situations. We trust them to deal with all manner of people.
If this Police Officer couldn't keep his cool because one women at a routine traffic stop couldn't keep his cool when she simply decided to exercise her rights, what is this guy gonna be like in a potentially life threatening situation or a more sensitive situation. Would he shoot an unarmed black kid because the kid simply decided he didn't want to stop walking down the street? Would he beat up some rapist in the holding cell which would get that rapist to be set free for police brutality instead of life imprison?

Police are in a role of authority but they are not above the law. They need to be held to a higher standard and treating members of society in this manner should not be tolerated.

The reality is you don't know why he/she pulled you over. Could be a spat with the spouse/SO, could be they missed the car in front of you, could be quota, could be a lot of things (lets see, here in OK it could be he wants to rape you). The best answer is always "no". And never admit anything.

And I know we're talking about this vid/story particularly but let me say shitty bully cops come in both genders. One of the worst cop experiences I ever had was with a female officer who seemed like she was out to prove something. It worked, she proved she was an ass.

I will say though, I killed her with kindness and she finally did just give me a warning, even though I questioned her place to ask me where I'd been and where I was going at 2:30am, which was what started her asshattery in the first place. I was polite about it, I politely informed her that I was an adult and I had the right to be out at night if I chose and my destination nor where I was previously, was not relevant to the pullover. If she was implying that I was under the influence then she should ask that or test me. In the end she agreed and I went on my way unscathed.

You're a badass, H! I wish I could stand up for myself that way. I am more likely to suggest three different reasons for the cop to have pulled me over, although fortunately that's only happened to me a couple of times.

(07-05-2016 06:40 PM)Momsurroundedbyboys Wrote: Many years ago, on my way to work, I was pulled over. He (the officer) looked around my car and and then proceeded to write me a ticket for not wearing my seatbelt.

He said very little to me.

I was at the time, driving my 1969 Firebird. It didn't have a shoulder strap, only the lap one, which I was actually wearing.

He asked what year the car was.

Mind you he's got my registration in his hand and insurance proof, both which have the make, model and year of my car.

I pointed to the registration.

They didn't make shoulder straps then, I guess he muttered.

Then he had gave my car a "safety inspection" it was a bright sunny day and told me to turn on my headlamps. One of my headlamps was out but I didn't drive the car at night and it wasn't night time.

So yeah, he gave me a "fix it" tickets for not having a working headlight on a bright sunny day

Of course I was late for work and explained what happened to my boss (lawyer).

Two phone calls later the whole thing was forgotten and the officer was explained proper procedure.

Is having a broken headlight even illegal?
I can understand not using headlights at certain times of the day being illegal, but just the fact it doesn't work, is that even illegal?

(07-05-2016 06:40 PM)Momsurroundedbyboys Wrote: Many years ago, on my way to work, I was pulled over. He (the officer) looked around my car and and then proceeded to write me a ticket for not wearing my seatbelt.

He said very little to me.

I was at the time, driving my 1969 Firebird. It didn't have a shoulder strap, only the lap one, which I was actually wearing.

He asked what year the car was.

Mind you he's got my registration in his hand and insurance proof, both which have the make, model and year of my car.

I pointed to the registration.

They didn't make shoulder straps then, I guess he muttered.

Then he had gave my car a "safety inspection" it was a bright sunny day and told me to turn on my headlamps. One of my headlamps was out but I didn't drive the car at night and it wasn't night time.

So yeah, he gave me a "fix it" tickets for not having a working headlight on a bright sunny day

Of course I was late for work and explained what happened to my boss (lawyer).

Two phone calls later the whole thing was forgotten and the officer was explained proper procedure.

Is having a broken headlight even illegal?
I can understand not using headlights at certain times of the day being illegal, but just the fact it doesn't work, is that even illegal?

I see plenty of cars with only one at night. It's Illegal to drive a car without headlights at night. But I don't know if that just applies to one or both.

I think since he couldn't give me a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt, he was going to make sure I drove away for a ticket for anything he thought was wrong. He volunteered the information about the seatbelt.

He even argued that my car might not be "street safe" at all -- which according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles it was.

In looking back, I think the lawyer I worked with was right, had my husband been driving it, he would never been pulled over for trivial crap like me.

But as if to knock me down, reality came around
And without so much as a mere touch, cut me into little pieces